Practice Focus

Mario M. Ruiz is a member in the Litigation Department. Board Certified in Business Litigation Law, Mario is most at home in the courtroom. With more than 25 years of experience, he has served as lead trial counsel in numerous jury and bench trials, helping clients navigate complex disputes in the areas of business, real estate, title insurance, banking and construction. Drawing on his roots as a law clerk in the Appellate courts, he also has substantial experience as lead appellate counsel. Frequently, Mario handles a case from beginning to end, including the lower court proceedings through trial, and then the appeal through oral argument.

Mario is particularly adept at developing winning legal arguments that efficiently conclude the case favorably to the client. In many instances, Mario is able to win a complex case via a dispositive motion, which saves the client the time, expense and uncertainty of prolonged litigation and trial. Mario takes each of his clients’ cases to heart, becomes personally invested, and strives to prepare it as though it were his own.

Mario earned a J.D. cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law in 1991 and a B.A. from Florida International University in 1988. From 1991 to 1993, Mario served as a law clerk for the Honorable David M. Gersten, Third District Court of Appeal. Before joining McDonald Hopkins in 2017, Mario was a member at Cohen | Ruiz. He is fluent in Spanish.